Alejandro

It is over. A shame, really, we were the better team today. Yes, we were better. Had all the defense except Aonso and Cesc put a decent performance, we would at least be at 0-0. This game proved we have the basis - great coach, very good wings, Alonso and Kante. Add a world class cb, rb, cm and st and we are set.

Are you serious? Courtois had to save the first goal, could have done better the seconde goal. Christensen DECIDED to slide tackle Messi and leave Azpi against Messi.

And people here blame Conte... The players are twa*s... Christensen, courtois , Rudiger... Are all abysmal.

Bro, we battered Palace. I would argue it was one of our best games lately. Take a look at the xG and see - we created 3.8 worth of goals (essentially 4), discounting the own goal. So base upon that, a more apt result should have been 5-1. Despite the own goals, we have no luck this season. Same against Arsenal - we sould have won twice and drew once, instead drew twice and lost one. Against Barca we created far less chances. Also, Courtois certainly contributed his part in them scoring... Regardless of that, a very tough game tonight. Can we win? Yes. But it will be very difficult... Interesting to see which individuals Conte would opt and in what formation. Image by Caley Graphics

The thing is, he is not that incompetent. Against Barca ha was lively, enthusiastic - and the team performed good, pressed high etc'. This time, we did absolutely nothing. Yes, City did not get ton of good chances, but it was an abysmal performance. I wasn't an advocate of him leaving, but given the last games, it is inevitable. Conte's problem is that he didn't move on. Ok, you have some average players and you didn't got the players you wanted, but you have to move on. He didn't. It is unfortunate, I thought he could take us high.

We had in this game a major problem: From the beginning, it looked like we had no will and desire, we did not seem to want to win this game. Against Barca the lads gave it all, but not now. We had an extra day of rest, so no excuses should be heard. I think that we also saw some of Kante's (who was mediocre at best) weaknesses - namely height and passes; he is a very smart footballer, however, lacks the technique of an elite midfielder - though his pros wayy outweigh his cons. A second point is Christensen - he is talented, for sure, but not yet at a level a Chelsea defender should be at - all of United's goals were his fault. But because he is so talented, we need to endure these mistakes and continue developing him. He was good this season. Also, Morata is absolutely useless. He simply can't exploit his height and guard the fuc**** ball. He also lack confidence, technique and awareness. Conte is to blame for the team spirit and choosing Moratra and not Cesc. When we changed to a back 4, we looked decent. If we reflect, I think it is clear why we are struggling. Instead of reinforcing the squad, we weakened it - Matic' is better then any midfielder we have, Costa is 10 times Morata, and Luiz was sublime last season. We might just blew it (a top 4 slot), but we have three games against Spurs, City and Liverpool (which I believe is our 37th in the league). We really should aim to claim 2 wins and a draw. What a depressing performance...

You are right, just watched it too. I think it was a collective mistake: Firstly Christensen, who passed a terrible pass. Then, Cesc failed to comprehend and react to the situation on time; then, Azpi simply did not need to dive, he should have stayed on his feet, waiting for Iniesta and delaying the counter. Then Moses, who stopped running back (really stupid decision) because he thought Azpi gets to the ball. And finally, Courtois that just abandoned the near post - if you watch carefully, not only did he move too far and didn't account for Rudiger who was at the far post, but failed to react sooner. Although it has to be said, Courtois has made the least impactful mistake.

I think we can be a bit more optimistic ahead of the second leg. In this game we showed we can contain them - had we avoided the mistake, Barca would have only one chance! Against the best or, at lest, top 3 attack in the world we managed to concede only one - and not a clear cut - chance. I think that we should have been more accurate when going forward, and had we been - we would get so many more chances. Also, while the team defended, we pressed Barca - successfully - in their half and most of the time managed to incur a ball loss. We also had good understanding of when to pressure. For example, every time the ball was played to the flank, we waited for the moment to attack their full back with our wing back. This resulted in the ball-nearest CB to go high. When Barca tried to adjust their game in order to cope better with the press, the wing back would push less high and posit himself closer to the centre in order to cover the long ball behind him. This showed me we came very prepared, Conte did a great job tactically (yes, the players some time relinquished the ball for too long, but for understandable reasons - the pressure, playing against Baca etc'. You could see Conte, in some footage, telling the players to press more, higher...). I think that Conte is an elite manager, and he showed it today. Obviously, playing in Camp Nou would be a different ball game, however I can see us going through. We will attack more, press them even more and defend less, but I think given the game today, we can be optimistic. Also, this good performance can impact our tough games ahead against City, United and Baca. If we glean 3 wins, I will tattoo Conte to both ass cheeks. Luckily, odds are slim.

You are 100% correct. I blame it not on poor technique but more on him not being fully concentrated and nor being fully concentrated (with the ball).

What a shame. Played very well and allowed Barca only one chance (the paulinho's one). Poor Conte. Christensen with a big mistake, but he is young and will learn.

His thought is not unfounded though... Cesc will really help in passing when Barca will press.

Wow, this was very unexpected. a very attacking lineup with Moses, Hazard, Pedro, Willian and Cesc. Hazard as a false 9 means Conte really is going to rely on counters. Barca as expected with 4-1-2-1-2 Diamond. If Pedro and Willian will come back to defense, we might have a chance. May God help us...

I disagree with some of what he says. In the first part, he analyses the formations in a very regimented manner. Like that Barca's 4 man mid would dominate a 3 man mid. Well, this is not always true. If Giroud and Hazard sit dip, then Busquets drops to the CB's area. Now, in the region that matters - we will have 3v3 (again, it is a too regimented way of looking into things). Barca would dominate the mid because that,'s how they play, train for years and have far better players then us. You think if we play a 5 man mid Barca would not dominate? Do you think Conte doesn't know that? Secondly, he mentions that Chelsea doesn't press high. Not correct. It is true that in Antonio's system we press much less high the City, For example, but we do press high (and with this system the wing-backs press very high). We have very specific triggers - like a player mistouches the ball, a ball to the flanks etc'. Expect very little press anyway tomorrow. Also, he mentions that if Hazard covers Busquets then we will have 1v1 on the wings. Well, when Hazard drops back Barca's full-backs are not that high on the pitch. So in the areas in which they would be, no imminent danger is present and as such this is not a problem. He forgets to mention that when playing 3-4-3, a lot of times both wingers don't defend. Hazard a lot of times, and the other winger sometimes. So in practice, it is essentially like 5-3-2, when the midfield stretches to cover the absent winger. Moreover, in a 3-4-3 the midfield 4 is in one lateral line and there is no cover to the zone behind the midfield and before the CBs (with 5-3-2 the central midfielder does this). Other than that, he analysed aptly and rightly the problems in defense. I would just like to mention that in Conte's system the CBs are pressuring high and tracking their assigned player very high, into midfield- meaning the player that got into their zone of marking. That requires very good decision making from the CBs and practice to get accustomed and forge better understanding with the other players in defense.

We certainly have tough games ahead, however, we have three games against Spurs, United and Liverpool (which will be our 37th game in the league, if me memory serves me correctly) - our rivals for a spot (disregarding Arsenal). If we manage 2 wins and a draw, I think we have a pretty good chance to finish at least 4th... Furthermore, Conte, until now, got the better of Jose. So we might be a little more optimistic in this regard.

Guys, just remembered that Coutinho is not eligible to play in the Champions. So now these are the two feasible options in terms of Barca's starting XI: Ter stegen; Roberto, Pique, Umtiti, Alba; Busquets; Rakitic, Iniesta; Paulinho; Messi, Suarez; OR: Ter stegen; Roberto, Pique, Umtiti, Alba; Busquets; Rakitic/ Paulinho, Iniesta; Messi, Suarez, Dembele; It is worth noting that in the 2nd option, often, Messi operates as the striker, Dembele as the right winger, Suarez as the left.